Spain's Sánchez Calls Snap Elections Amid Housing Crisis Sparked by Eviction
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls snap elections amid a severe housing crisis sparked by the dramatic eviction and subsequent death of elderly resident Maricarmen.
If Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez still has any chance of staying in power, it is partly thanks to a woman named Maricarmen, who passed away last Wednesday. Sánchez announced snap elections this week following nationwide protests over the severe housing crisis in the country. Maria del Carmen Abascal became the face of the crisis last month when she was evicted from her Madrid apartment by court order.
Cameras captured the dramatic eviction of the elderly woman on a stretcher, an event that sparked unprecedented public outrage. While the Spanish housing crisis had been simmering for a long time with an acute shortage leading to a 66% price surge in five years, Maricarmen's eviction was the spark that ignited the masses. Now, her death only fuels that anger, mixed with profound grief.
The Roots of the Crisis
Maricarmen had inherited a rent-controlled lease from her parents signed decades ago under military dictator Francisco Franco. An investment firm that bought the building a few years ago hiked the rent to a sum the elderly woman could not afford. Only following the public uproar did the company agree to let her return to the apartment for a nominal rent, but unfortunately, the solution arrived too late.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Sánchez and his leftist allies are now betting that an election campaign placing the housing crisis center stage could revive support for their battered bloc, which polls show heading toward a heavy defeat. "We will no longer allow evictions like the one Maricarmen suffered," Sánchez declared while presenting emergency measures to address the housing distress, which include tax breaks, loans for first-time buyers, and the extension of the eviction ban.
Political Repercussions
"Without any restraint, they are using the suffering of an elderly woman to run a campaign that hides the government's responsibility for the housing disaster," the nationalist Vox party wrote on X.
The blame for crises usually falls on the shoulders of the incumbent government. However, Sánchez, in power since 2018 and one of the longest-serving leaders in the European Union, has proven to be a political survivor. He went against the European mainstream, governed from the left, granted amnesty to undocumented migrants, and frequently criticized Israel and the US over their military actions.
He has also weathered crises that would have easily ended the careers of other leaders, including corruption allegations against close associates and his wife, as well as a 24-year prison sentence handed to a former transport minister in his government over coronavirus-era corruption. Meanwhile, Sánchez has faced growing pressure to resign amid the migration crisis in Ceuta, where tens of thousands crossed the border last summer.
"The elections, whenever they may be, will serve as a referendum on housing in the country," Spain's minister of social rights declared. Now, about 40% of Spanish citizens view affordable housing as their primary concern, far outstripping migration. Sánchez's main challenge will be convincing voters that he is not to blame for the situation.
